


Black eyes and metal teeth

by myotishia



Series: All ye who enter here [10]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: have a little Owen angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-22 20:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19993114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: Six disappearances in a week lead Torchwood to investigate the mysterious black eyed figures seen at the latest scene.





	1. Unseen

**Author's Note:**

> New reader? Start right [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551278)

Icy rain battered Cardiff, washing down the streets in rivers, leading the residents running from shelter to shelter.

Jamie Kensington sat in his car, waiting to pick up his daughter from the cinema. He was relaxing, listening to the radio when he heard a small set of knocks on his window. He turned to see two short figures standing just beyond his door, their hoods up to keep the rain off them. He rolled down the window a little but no further, feeling as if he were to open it fully something might jump in.

“Urm… yes?”

The voice of a child came from under the hood. “We ran out of money to get home. Please let us in. It’s cold.” Its voice was flat and emotionless. 

“Why don’t you go inside where it’s warm and call your parents?”

“Please let us in.”

He slowly reached for the button to roll the window back up, knowing something was very wrong. His heart pounded in his chest. 

The child that spoke looked up, showing its pitch black eyes. “Let us in.”

He couldn’t look away, terror gripping him, as his hand slowly reached for the door handle. He didn’t want to open it but it was as if he had no control over his body. Still the children stared into him with their blank, black eyes. 

Gwen rested her still warm mug of coffee on her bump, hoping the baby didn’t kick it off like she had with Gwens dinner plate the night before. It was her own fault for using her belly like a table but it was so much easier than trying to rest anything on her lap or lean over to the table. As far as she could tell the little one was asleep. Another missing persons report popped up on her screen. The sixth in the past week. They were all so strange. People suddenly just disappeared from the face of the Earth and hadn’t left a single clue behind. The rift hadn’t taken them. In fact the rift had been going through a calm period. Unlike the others this one had been in a public area with cameras. She sat forward, placing her mug on the desk, and tapped around accessing the camera feed from around the time the man had disappeared. The rain had been so hard that it was picked up by the camera and almost looked like static. The mans car could be seen idling as two small figures walked over from the cinema, their steps in perfect unison. They approached the drivers window and knocked, their faces hidden from view. She watched as the drivers side door slowly opened then, in the blink of an eye, they were gone. She rewound the footage and played it again frame by frame. They were there in one and gone in the next. Even the rift left a flash of light when it took someone. This had stopped being a missing persons case and become a kidnapping. 

“Think you can clear this up Tosh?”

“Probably, send it over.”

“Camera six, 8:53. Watch the two short figures. The driver hasn’t been seen since he parked. His daughter came out of the cinema ten minutes later and found the car empty.”

“There was no increase in rift activity around that time so teleportation maybe?” She zoomed in to get a better look at the hooded figures but couldn’t see much. Like Gwen had noted, one frame they were there and the next they were gone. The figures were approximately 4”10’ and thinly built. Nowhere near big enough to overpower a grown man. 

“Were there any witnesses?” Tosh asked, looking for a camera with a clearer view.

“None that the police have found. This is the sixth disappearance this week.”

“I’d heard about people going missing but as they had nothing in common and the rift has been so quiet I didn’t even think it could be a case for us.”

Jack had been listening carefully. “Looks like we’re not getting much sat here. Owen, you and Tosh go and check out the cinema. See if there’s an energy trail from a teleporter. Elise, you’re with me. We’re going to go talk to some of the families.”

Elise sighed and stood. “Any chance of swapping?”

“I’ll swap with you.” Smiled Gwen, getting tired of being inside all the time. 

Jack laughed softly. “You know the rules. Desk duty until Junior makes an appearance.”

“She’s asleep, she never has to know.”

“Anyway, I need you to call the detectives that are already on these cases. Get anything they can’t officially record.”

“Fine.”

The car sat empty, wrapped in police tape, in the same position it had been in the night before. Tosh held the scanner, reading what the small screen had to say. There was very little but right next to the door there was a very slight blip. It wasn’t enough to be residual energy from teleportation but there was definitely something there. She turned to tell Owen but found he’d wandered off. He was reckless sometimes but didn’t usually just wander off. She looked up and down the street but couldn’t see him. 

“Tosh, you done there?” Owens voice came from just inside the cinema door. 

“Don’t run off like that!”

“I didn’t. You just didn’t hear me. Come on and take a look at this.” 

She trotted inside, appreciating the warmth of the lobby and looked up at where he was pointing. “You think they came from inside?”

“No, but all the ticket booths are reflective unless you’re right in front of them.”

“Let’s see if we can get them to show us.” 

“Can we get a drink first?”

“We can get drinks after.” 

He sighed dramatically but followed her as she approached one of the ticket booths. 

“Hi, is there a manager available?” She asked. 

The nervous looking young lady behind the glass fumbled with a walkie talkie “I’ll call her down.”

“Thanks.” 

Soon a stressed looking woman with her hair pulled into a messy bun came marching over. “How can I help you?”

“By any chance do you have the security footage from that camera over there for last night?”

“Are you from the police?”

“We’re investigating the possible kidnapping.”

Owen flashed his Torchwood ID knowing that people never looked too closely. 

The manageress nodded. “This way please.”

They both followed her upstairs to a cramped little office containing a monitor that scrolled through the cameras and a computer that had been pretty much obsolete for at least three years. The manageress scrolled through the stored files until she found one from around the time of the incident. 

“If you need anything else I’ll be just downstairs.” The manageress said, already moving for the door.

Tosh sat in front of the computer and played the footage, looking closely at the reflection of the doorway, Owen watching just over her shoulder. Just before the two figures appeared the door opened on its own. 

“Well, they didn’t teleport. It seems like they have a kind of invisibility.” Tosh muttered.

“Great, how do we track them then?”

“They were invisible not intangible so I should be able to clean up the footage we have and look for voids in the water.” 

Adrian Phillips had been the second person to go missing, leaving a distraught wife and two young boys. Juliette Phillips sat in her living room across from Jack and Elise, the children having been sent to their room. 

“I know this is hard but is there anything you remember from the night he went missing?” Asked Jack.

Juliette sniffled, wiping her eyes. “We’d had a few knocks at the door that evening but he said it was just kids.”

“Kids?”

“Yea. He didn’t recognise them but kids’ll be kids. He didn’t even open the door to them because it was late. He said they’d go away if we ignored them… After the third time he looked… Upset I suppose. Like it was really getting to him. He said if they knocked again he was calling the police. I told him it was a bit much and just to tell them to get lost. I thought that was what he was going to do… Then… Then the kids knocked again. He went to answer and I expected to hear him shouting but I didn’t hear anything. The door was open and he was… He was gone.”

“Did you see these kids?”

“No.” She wiped her eyes again. “I didn’t even hear them talk.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

“Do you think the men in suits had something to do with it?”

“Men in suits?”

“They came yesterday at about 9:30. Two tall men in black suits, hats and sunglasses. They told me I shouldn’t talk about the children anymore. They told me to just forget Adrian. I can’t do that. I’m kind of glad you showed up today. So someone’s still looking.”

“These two men, was there anything strange about them? Did they show any kind of ID?”

“They didn’t have any badges or anything… I mean they were pale and…”

“It’s ok. Anything you can tell us will be helpful.”

“They looked like they were wearing makeup. Like their lips were just a bit too red and their skin was too smooth. They didn’t take their glasses off once and… Their accents were so odd. They put pauses in their speech in the wrong places. The more I think about it… They were too tall. They had to duck to get in through the doorway.”

“Thank you. This is very helpful.”

“Really? I… I just want Adrian home.” She looked so hopeful but Jack knew it was unlikely that the man would be found alive.

“We’ll do our best.” He said softly, standing to leave. “If those strange men come back I want you to call this number. Don’t let them in the house.” 

She took the card with the handwritten number decorating the front. “I’ll make sure.”

“What do you think that was all about?” Elise asked once they were outside.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“It sounded like an encounter with the men in black.”

“I haven’t heard of them being seen in Wales before. I thought they were a strictly American thing.”

“Says the man with the American accent. I’ve heard of a few cases… In fact…”

“What?”

“These kids… They sound like black eyed kids.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t they meant to be ghosts?”

“Some people think so but they seem a lot more alien to me. Even before people see the eyes they can feel that something’s off about them. Maybe black eyed kids grow up into men in black.”

“Whatever they are, they’re taking people. We need to find a way to track where they’re being taken.”

“Hopefully Tosh and Owen have found something.”

Back at the Hub Gwen had finished her calls. She’d gathered that the police had no idea what was going on and they were very close to just writing it all off as a coincidence. Some coincidence. She looked up at the sound of wings but Myfanwy was safely in her nest, beak sticking out over the side. Had a bird got in? Had the mice grown wings? It was entirely possible but not something she wanted to deal with. She sent a message up to Ianto, asking him to come down and give his opinion. Light footsteps sounded from the archives but she was sure that Ianto had been in the tourist information centre. The cog door confirmed her memory but made the second set of footsteps suddenly eerie. 

“Myfanwy usually frightens off any birds.” Said Ianto before being shushed. 

Gwen gestured for him to stay quiet and stand next to her. He listened though he wasn’t sure what he was listening for. He didn’t hear the beat of wings but after a tense moment he too heard light footsteps. How had anyone got that far into the hub without any alarms going off or anyone noticing? An auditory illusion maybe? An echo of the past? The two looked at each other, neither being armed and the footsteps being a lot closer to the armoury than they were. Ianto helped Gwen up and pulled her gently back towards his usual haunt. They could lock down the hub and check the cameras from there. If it was nothing then it wasn’t far but if there was someone at least they’d be safe. 

Neither spoke as Ianto brought up the feed from the camera in the main area of the hub. A male figure, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit stood, looking as if they were sniffing at the air. The man casually walked over to Elises desk and sat in her chair, poking at the trinkets she kept there.

“How did he get in?” Gwen whispered, as if he would somehow hear her if she spoke at a normal volume.

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t have been able to get in without one of us seeing him unless…”

“Unless?”

“The old station. The flood door wasn’t put back down, was it?”

“I don’t know. We were all a bit distracted.”

Ianto set up a soft lockdown that basically allowed you to get in but not out. It also sent out a message warning of a possible security breach. He made a mental note to have the flood door closed permanently. They both went back to watching the man who was lazily pushing himself around in circles in the office chair, holding up one of the photos Elise kept next to her screen to look at. 

The ‘man’ in Elises chair placed back the photo, humming to himself. He’d studied every ink drop of the photograph and had memorised the faces of those it depicted. One he was quite familiar with. Hearing the alarms he turned to look at the door.

“Finally.” He smiled as he stood to greet them, arms wide. 

“Stay where you are and put your hands behind your head,” Ordered Jack, very much ready to begin a hail of gunfire that would turn the intruder into swiss cheese. Said intruder didn’t seem bothered in the slightest to be on the wrong side of the Torchwood issued weapons.

“Please, go ahead and fire. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt pain, it’ll be quite exciting.” He grinned.

“Who are you?”

“Of course, this form must be so unusual to you. You may know me as Rofocale.”

Elise lowered her gun. “Rofocale? What are you doing? Why? And why do you look like Brendon Uri?”

“I love this form. I knew to be here I’d need a human form and this one has a voice I just adore. Now, where has my favourite mortal been?”

“You know him?” Asked Jack, still cautious. 

“This is Rofocale, my contact in the rift.”

“And why is he here?”

Rofocale sat back in Elises chair. “I was looking for her. She hasn’t been to visit in some time and I was concerned. It’s so rare that I get a decent conversation in the … How would you describe it?”

“The rift.” Elise sighed. “Rofocale, coming here was a bad idea. I’m fine. I can just stay in my body when I sleep now.”

“You shouldn’t be so ungrateful.” His voice split in to its odd mesh of young and old vocal sounds before returning to its sweet, less eldritch form. “You’re lucky I can’t stay angry at you. Now, are you going to introduce your friends? Or should I guess. Hmmm. Mr glows in the dark must be Jack. The one giving me the murder eyes is Owen. The well dressed gentleman is Ianto. The adorable lady carrying the technology that she likely shouldn’t have as a human is Toshiko. And of course, the one who looks like she really wants me gone but isn’t sure how that would even happen is Gwen.”

“Don’t act as if you guessed that, you’ve read my mind before.”

“Must you spoil all of my fun?” He pouted, rolling his eyes.

“How did you even get here?”

“I know where the door to your realm is and I know how to traverse the patchwork of dimensions that makes up the rift. Unlike the others I do not need someone to open a door for me. In short, I flew.” He looked at his nails and changed their colour until he was seemingly happy. 

Jack finally lowered his gun, realising that it wouldn’t do anything anyway. “Well, you’ve seen that Elise is fine so you can go back.”

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t plan to stick around.” Rofocale stood and walked over to Elise, studying her. “This vessel is so… Soft. How have you survived so long?”

Elise didn’t move and showed little concern. “All humans are soft.”

“I would have thought humanity would have evolved to be a little more sturdy by now. Oh well, evolution can be painfully slow in civilised societies.”

“Thanks.” She said dryly. 

“Don’t take it as an insult. It’s better than the mess some of my so called species live in. And don’t worry about that human that Abaddon had been toying with. He’s contained. As is his master. My army has been quite successful at binding him. Oh and by the way I saw something thrown through to this plane of existence a few months ago.”

“Something big? Small?”

“Big compared to a human. It looked metallic. I only saw it from afar. That’s all I have for you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“And remember not to get rusty with your swords little mortal. I won’t have one of my students becoming a failure.”

“I won’t.”

“Otherwise I will start asking for payment.”

She cringed slightly. “I know.” 

Rofocale nodded his goodbye before dissolving into a fine mist that drifted into nothingness. 

Elise let out a long breath, relaxing. 

“I think we need to know a little more about your contact.” Said Jack, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

Elise opened a book she’d actively had to pick up from home to the correct page.

“This is Rofocale Lucefuge. I believe the Lucefuge part is a title of some kind. They’re a daemon like Abaddon, kind of. They come from the same planet. Rofocale is a member of the original race that evolved on Daemon before the newer, more bestial race invaded a few billion years ago. Because he dislikes the way Daemon is run sometimes he stays inside the rift to keep other races that can freely traverse the rift from trying to use it to send an invasion force through. There wasn’t much he could do about Cthulhu because they were calling things through from this side. He cant stop smaller things like single beings or single ships but he can keep the big guys at bay.”

Jack took the book. “And what deal did you make with him?” He asked as he read down the page, the others on the edge of their seats.

“I didn’t. He found me interesting as when we met I was fending off three of his lower level soldiers with a… What did he call it?.... I can’t remember but it was a bit like a morningstar but the spikes moved position depending on the holders will. He said as long as I stayed interesting he was happy to protect me and teach me to protect myself.”

He looked over the edge of the page. “And what does payment count as?”

“Memories. They can’t be taken unwillingly. Emotions and experiences, positive or negative, can be traded like currency.”

“And that has nothing to do with your memories fading?”

She jumped at what she considered a private issue being brought up so publicly. “No. You get a kind of receipt for any transaction. Do we have to talk about _that_ in front of everyone?”

Owen looked between them. “Memories fading?”

“It’s just mundane stuff from my original timeline. It’s fine.”

“Eli. I know when you’re lying.” 

“We can talk about it later.”

“No , we can talk about it right bloody now. How long has this been happening?” 

Tosh placed a hand over his. “Owen. It’s nothing major. The only big memory she lost was after the car accident.”

“So she told you and not me?”

“She didn’t want you to worry.”

“Now I’m really fucking worried. What else have you been keeping from me?”

Elise glared over at Jack. “You did this on purpose, why?” 

“Fucking hell when Jack Harkness is the one being honest I know everything’s gone to shit.”

Jack placed the book down. “I assumed you’d told the one person that needed to know.”

“No one needed to know but me! Why does it matter?! They’re old memories from a timeline that doesn’t even exist anymore.” Her voice cracked slightly and she refused to look anyone in the eye.

Owen pinched the bridge of his nose. “We need to know because it could be a symptom of something bigger.”

“I know that! If they started just disappearing one after the other, or if they were recent memories, I’d say something.”

“It might be too late by then!” He shouted. The room fell suddenly silent, a wave of discomfort settling over everyone. No one wanted to break it. 

Jack decided he should probably be the one to take that bullet as he had opened this can of worms. “For now we can let your visitor go. No damage has been done and no one saw them. Tosh can you make sure the flood door is closed?”

Tosh nodded, still holding Owens hand. 

“Ianto I need any records we have about black eyed kids making people disappear. And any records we have on inhumanly tall agents turning up to witnesses homes and telling them to keep their mouths shut.”

“I’ll see what I can find.” Ianto said softly, thankful to get out of there.

“Gwen, can you ask around for any police sightings of these agents?”

She didn’t answer, she just made her way to her computer. 

“And you two, go for a walk.”

Owen grumbled. “Are you serious?”

“Completely. This shouldn’t have been an issue, but being as it is, it’s going to make the rest of the day unbearable if you don’t at least get to some kind of understanding. Go.”

Outside Owen was still seething. 

“You know why I didn’t say anything.” Elise began, stopping in her tracks.

“No I don’t.”

“You think that wouldn’t pour salt on old wounds.”

“Yes, it would but then it would be over with. I’d deal with it.”

“And if you couldn’t find an immediate answer for it?”

He frowned deeply and looked away from her. 

“Owen I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“It doesn’t matter what you were _trying_ to do Elise. How am I meant to protect you if you don’t tell me these things?”

“I don’t need protecting.”

“Yes you do, just like everyone else. Your so obsessed with protecting everyone else you’re forgetting why we’re here in the first place. There’s six of us against the whole bloody universe, we need to watch each others backs. That includes you. You can’t just pretend you’re a separate entity just appearing when shit goes down anymore. There’s no outer force pulling the strings. It’s us. Just us. We’re all we have.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Look, I know it’s easier when you keep yourself at a distance from everything but that’s how you end up dead and I can’t face that. You die and there’s no going back. No jumping through time to prevent it. Do you know how that would feel if it was because of something I could have helped with? I can’t have another death on my hands.”

“It wasn’t your fault! You know that!”

“I could have helped!”

“Have you even ever said goodbye to her?”

He stopped, staring wide eyed at her. “I… I tried.” His voice was quiet, all the anger and frustration draining from it. “Everything with Torchwood happened so fast after the funeral.”

“Maybe you should.”

“I can’t go back. Not now.”

“Until you move on you never left… I won’t keep anything from you from now on. I promise.”

He sat on a nearby bench and lent on his knees, his face in his hands. 

“I shouldn’t have brought her up. I’m sorry.” She sat next to him, unsure of how to act. 

“What would I even say? It’s not like she could hear me.”

“Does it matter? The whole point is to say the things you wish you could have. It’s good to let it out.”

“I can do that at home.”

“But you won’t.”

He lifted his head, lines of tears staining his cheeks. “How do I tell her I’ve moved on?”

“Wouldn’t she have wanted you to? She wouldn’t have wanted you to be alone forever, would she?”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“I was so fucking angry and now you’re giving me the whole emotional support speech thing you do and I can’t think of anything else.” He laugh sobbed.

She shrugged and brushed away his tears. “Apparently I’m good at making people cry.”

“It’s only because I love you.”

A smile crept across her face. “I think that’s the first time you’ve said that to me.”

“What? I’ve said it before.”

“Not out loud you haven’t. You’ve told Tosh but…”

“Well I do. Even if you drive me crazy sometimes.”

“I love you too.” She pressed her forehead against his, hand still rested on his cheek. “Think Tosh has been watching us?”

“It’s Tosh, of course she has. But that part of why we love her.”

“Yea. No idea why she’s into us.”

“We’re different types of fuck ups. I think we balance each other out.”

A rumble rose from the ground, pulling them both from their thoughts. 

“The fuck is that?” Asked Owen, standing and looking around for the source. The ground shook as a large metal fin breached the tarmac of the road, moving like a shark through water. The screech of tyres wailed over the sound of soil, gravel, stone and tarmac being ground up as a huge metallic creature breached the road surface and brought its massive jaws down on the car, swallowing it whole. The sound of metal being crushed within the beings massive body was slowly dulled by the surrounding earth as it dove back down and was gone, leaving a huge trench in the centre of the road. Water pipe lines slowly trying to fill the site. 

“How are we going to cover that up?” Elise asked, still staring in shock at the massive trench.

“When it rains it pours.” Jack commented, letting go of the railing he’d been holding himself up on. “What the hell was that?”

“Whatever it was just ate a car.” Said Tosh, already trying to follow the things trajectory. 

“It ate a car?” Gwen asked as if she’d heard her colleague wrong.

“Whole. It’s gone too deep. I can’t follow the vibrations any further.”

“Are we safe in here?” 

It was a good question as they were very much stuck between tonnes of earth and gallons of water. Jack nodded. “We’re fine in here. This place was built to survive an atomic blast, from the outside at least.”

Elise and Owen ran in, a little thankful not to be out in the open anymore. 

“How does it look out there?” The captain turned to them.

“It burrows like a worm. Fills up the tunnels as it goes. Didn’t see it kick out any metal after the car was crushed though.” Owen said, all sign that he’d been so emotional only minutes ago gone. 

“Didn’t Rofocale say this thing slipped through a few months ago?” Tosh pointed out, looking to Elise for confirmation. 

“He did. Maybe it wasn’t hungry until now. That much destruction isn’t something we could miss.” She agreed. 

Jack thought for a moment. “Elise, think you can put together an idea of what we’re dealing with using the footage we just got?”

“I think so.”

“Right, so far we have three possible threats active. As destructive as that thing was in theory it could be another month before it turns up again. Unless it shows its face again we’ll have to keep it as a low priority. We need to deal with the kidnappings first. I get the feeling they aren’t going to stop.” 


	2. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the looming threat of the land shark the team still needs to find the kidnapped humans.

“It’s a shark.” Jack stated, holding up the image Elise had put together of the burrowing creature. 

“Yea. A literal land shark.” She said, just as baffled. 

“Think you can make something to track it using the tunnels it’s already made?”

“A little mole bot? Sure. It doesn’t look like it can reverse so something small should go unnoticed.” 

“Start work on it when you can. You’ve got two weeks unless it turns up again.”

“A leisurely build then. Sure.”

“Well, we’ve still got these invisible kids to deal with at the same time. Speaking of, Tosh any luck?”

Tosh didn’t even look away from her screen. “It’s slow going. Looking for where the rain  _ isnt _ is ridiculous.” 

“Keep at it. It’s all we have for now.”

The sound of a phone ringtone filled the air. Mrs Phillips was calling. Jack gestured for Owen to join him as he grabbed his coat before answering. 

“They’re back.” Came a frightened voice. 

“Don’t panic. We’re on our way. Can you lock yourself and the kids in the bathroom?”

“I can. They just keep knocking at the door.”

“Let’s just keep as many locked doors as we can between you and them.”

A loud thump could be heard in the background. “Oh god I think they’re trying to break in.”

“Just get yourself and the kids hidden, ok? I’m right here.”

“Ok.” She squealed. The children could be heard whimpering as another thump, now dulled by the closing of the bathroom door, rattled the house.

The two seven foot tall figures slammed their fists on the door, leaving dents in the wood. They barely flinched when the SUV skidded to a stop in the road behind them. Owen and Jack aimed their weapons.

“Step away from the door.” The captain ordered, knowing that these two were definitely not human.

The agents turned and one opened its mouth, a thick green fog flooding out. Its fell back as one bullet pierced its head and the other hit it in the chest. Owen tried to hold his breath until the fog dissipated but he could feel himself getting light headed. He hoped it was just a sedative and he wasn’t actively dying. Jack shot the other black clad figure in the leg before grabbing Owen and pulling him back, further from the cloud. He was thankful he could hold his breath a little longer. The living agent was attempting to crawl away, leaving a trail of greenish blood behind it. It wasn’t getting far any time soon but he needed to get it out of public view. Thankfully one of the weevil containers in the SUV had a filtration system after ones smell ended up sticking to everything and they had to replace all of the upholstery. It could pump out as much green gas as it wanted in there. 

He grabbed the being by the back of the collar and wrestled it into containment. The cloud had dissipated and he hoped it had worn off.

“Owen. You still alive?”

Owen coughed. “Yea but my mouth tastes like a fish died in it.” 

“When you can stand we have a body to move before people see it.”

“You moved the other one on your own.”

“That one wasn’t dead weight.” Jack offered his hand to help Owen up. The young doctor took it and clambered to his feet, feeling much more stable. 

Gwen tossed a ball of paper to bounce across Elises desk, grabbing her attention. 

“Everything ok?” Gwen breathed, not wanting Tosh to hear just in case the answer wasn’t positive. 

Elise gave a thumbs up and nodded. “We talked it out.”

Gwen smiled. “Thank goodness. That could have been…”

“Awkward.”

“Yea.”

“Oh that reminds me. Tosh sweet bean.” 

Tosh looked up. “What do you need me to do?” The pet names were only brought out at work if she wanted something.

“One of the weekends I need you to take Owen on a little road trip and I can’t go.”

“What kind of road trip and why can’t you go?”

“He needs to face something he’s been avoiding and I can’t travel past the Welsh border otherwise I’d take him.”

“I suppose but I’m guessing I’m going to need a long explanation later.”

“Thank you. We owe you big time. I promise we’ll make it up to you.”

“As long as you two aren’t fighting anymore I’m happy.”

“No more fighting. How’s the tracking going?”

“They walked a long way. So far I’ve tracked them to an office building that’s up for let. It used to be a data storage centre for the military.”

“We have somewhere to check out now. That’s great.”

Tosh rubbed her tired, dry, eyes. “I’m just glad I can take my eyes off the screen for a while.” 

The alien, now locked safely in a cell, glared through its glasses at Jack.

“Are you ready to tell me what you were doing?” He asked.

The creature pulled off its sun sunglasses, the glue that held them in place pulling away a line of paint to reveal its grey skin. “We want what is… ours. The human… woman was going to… Draw too much attention. I do not… want to harm her. Only order her… silence.”

“Attention to what?”

“The thing that took her mate.”

“The black eyed kids.”

“They are not human young.”

“It’s just a name. What are they?”

“They are our … creations. Escaped… We want them returned.”

“What did you make them for?”

“Convenience. They complete menial tasks. We keep them… sustained in return.”

“They seem a bit too sentient to just be devices.”

“They are not devices. They are… constructed lifeforms. We breed them.”

Jack narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenching. “Sounds a lot like a slave race to me.”

“That is what… Humans would call… them.”

“Why are they taking humans?” He growled as he tried to contain the rage that was growing inside his chest. 

“Sustenance. They use the … electrical… signals in the human … nervous system. It is… similar to … the energy we feed them.”

“Can they live on anything else?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t they? Other things have to be easier.”

“They do not know. That would… cause a … reason for independence.”

“If I decide to let you go you’re going to leave this planet and never come back. If you do you’ll be killed on sight.”

“We just want what is ours.”

“A sentient being doesn’t belong to anyone!” 

“You are emotional. Why? … They have… harmed humans… I have not.”

“It’s called empathy. They don’t understand there’s any other way to survive. You know exactly what you’re doing. There’s a chance those people are still alive.”

“A chance… Yes… but a small one.”

“Are there more of you on this planet?”

“No… We would not expend… more on lost items.”

Jack marched off without another word, ignoring the beings questions as he left. 

Owen had just finished washing the paint and glue from the dead creatures body. He was going to have to take extra care with the body just in case it was still holding more of the gas. 

Its hairless skin was covered in fine scales. From the outside it didn’t look like it had ever sustained an injury. He was almost looking forward to opening it up and seeing how it worked. Tosh had her computers, Elise had her machines and he had his bodies. A bit more morbid but just as interesting. 

Jack came barrelling in. “Put him on ice for now. We have a possible place the black eyed kids have taken their victims.”

“I’ll be right with you.” He said, glad that he hadn’t started cutting yet. If Jack was in that much of a hurry it meant there could be people still alive so he readied himself to carry his full kit.

The upper levels of the building were let to an accounting firm so, to keep a low profile, they parked at the back of the building. The lower levels had a separate entrance that had been boarded up while it was unoccupied. It looked like the black eyed kids had been getting in through a broken window. There were scraps of fabric caught on the broken glass along with a few spots of blood. Owen placed, what was essentially, a car mat over the frame to protect them from getting cut before hopping in. The fallen glass crunched under his boots. Jack followed and Elise climbed in last. The office was dark and silent but with the help of a torch they could see a trail of blood spots leading deeper into the building. Further in sat an old server room, the walls thick concrete to protect them. The servers themselves were long gone but the spots of blood said the room wasn’t completely uninhabited. The door had a lock but it was broken and had been replaced with a wedge on the outside. Jack kicked it away and held the handle of the door. As the light shone into the room six figures in different states of exhaustion cowered away. Jamie, the last to be taken and, the one in the best shape was the first to realise that their captors were not the ones at the door. 

“Help us.” He begged, his voice like gravel, likely from screaming. It looked like the blood they’d been following was his as his left leg was cut up.

Owen moved forward and pulled the backpack off. “We’re going to get you out of here. Stay quiet, ok?” 

Jamie nodded. “You need to help Kaylie. She hasn’t moved all day.” He’d lowered his voice but he was pointing to a woman slumped in the corner. She still had a pulse but it was faint and her blood pressure was incredibly low. The people locked in the room had no food or water and it was hitting them hard. 

“Jack, we need to get these people to a hospital now.”

“I’m going to find the BEK’s. I’ll have Tosh send you some help. Elise, help him the best you can.” Jack said before turning, tapping his earpiece as he rushed down the hallway. “Tosh, we have six casualties here. At least one’s barely holding on.”

“I’ll get two ambulances rerouted to you now.”

“Still no sign of the BEK’s.”

“I’ll keep a look out for more reports of people going missing.”

In the server room Owen quickly realised that each person had wires embedded in their skin. Each wire lead to a hole in the wall. 

“You’re Jamie, right?” He asked, not looking up as he was trying to place an IV line in torchlight on a patient whose veins did not want to cooperate.

“Yea.”

“The wires, can they be cut or pulled out?”

Another woman spoke weakly. “I tried to pull them out but it hurt too much… I got one free.”

“Elise, there are some wire cutters in the left side pocket of my bag. Cut them all loose then I need you to hold this.” He held an IV bag, pumping fluids back into the poor woman that was unresponsive. 

Elise did as she was told, holding the torch in her teeth as she worked. The thin wires fell away, no longer tethering the victims to the room. As soon as the last one fell away she returned to Owens side. 

He handed her the bag. “Hold this here. See that flashing light on her finger? If that stops flashing then tell me.” He didn’t need to wait for an answer so he moved on to the next victim who was faring only marginally better. 

Jack stopped and ducked into what was once a break room as he heard an angry screech, followed by chatter in a language he didn’t recognise. He didn’t like being outnumbered but he’d just have to deal with it. Four sets of footsteps approached. He waited for the last minute before making his presence known, hoping to startle them. It worked as the four childlike figures froze in place. 

“Before you make a move, just listen. I’m not here to send you back, understand?” He began, hoping the BEK’s could speak English. 

One figure, who looked like an 11 year old boy, stepped forward. “So you plan to capture us yourself?” It asked, not showing any real emotion.

“No. I’m just here to free the people you kidnapped.”

“We need them to survive.”

“No you don’t. You were lied to. We captured the ones who were hunting you and I assume they got here in a ship.”

“That would be logical, but why are you telling us?”

“I want you to take their ship and head out.”

“You know where this ship is?”

“No, but I can find out. I just need you to trust me.”

“We have no option. You have weapons and we do not. You are not affected by our hypnotism so we have no way of fighting you.” 

“Then it’s lucky you don’t have to.” He smiled. 

The ambulances had pulled a crowd as the victims were wheeled out. Owen had briefed the paramedics on their condition and told them the wires needed removing. They took him telling them he couldn’t say who’d done that to them as him being a plain clothes police officer, dealing with something awful hidden in that building. They weren’t too far off the mark. The second the last victim, Jamie, had been taken away Owen flopped down against the wall. 

“Look at you, saving people.” Elise smiled.

He smirked. “That is a part of my job.”

“Still. Colour me impressed.”

“They aren’t out of the woods yet but thanks.” 

Jack lent on the doorframe. “Job’s not over yet.”

“Didn’t you find them?”

“I did.”

“I’m in no shape to be hauling body bags.”

“It’s a good thing you won’t need to then.”

“Where are they then?”

“Waiting until we get our prisoner to tell us where its ship is.”

“If it has a ship.”

“Oh it has a ship. They don’t have teleportation technology.”

Owen pulled himself to his feet, surprised that Elise had pulled his backpack onto her back so he wouldn’t have to lug it back to the SUV. 

As the sun set Owen wrapped up the grey skinned aliens leg, ready for it to be escorted to its ship. It was silently lead to the SUV, hands bound, not that it could run anywhere on that leg. It had to believe it would be allowed to leave in its ship. Jack was going to take the creature, following its directions, and Ianto would be following. He’d been tasked with transporting the four BEK’s. He would be the envy of school coach drivers everywhere as his passengers sat silently. Following the tracking signal from the SUV would be easier if Jack slowed down, but pigs would learn to fly using only their ears before that happened. 

The SUV rolled to a stop and Jack hopped out, letting the grey alien out. It marched into the treeline and pulled a sheet from the shuttle, revealing it. 

“This is my ship… Release me… Now.” 

“You know that isn’t going to happen.” He replied, his voice like ice.

“Explain!”

“I refuse to help slave owners.”

“Then why bring… Me here?”

“To be sure you were telling the truth.”

“I will… Not… Stand for this!” The creature hissed, lunging at Jack. Its grip was incredibly strong and three bullets to the gut didn’t seem to even slow the thing down. His vision was starting to blur and his lungs burned, desperate for air. A loud thud echoed off the trees and the grey alien fell limp. The captain pushed the creature off him and looked up at Ianto, holding a crowbar. 

“This is why I told you going alone was a bad idea.” The Welshman grumbled, offering his hand.

Jack propped himself up on his elbows. “I knew you’d be along to save me.” 

“Isn’t that usually the other way around?”

“I’m always up for switching positions.”

He rolled his eyes and helped Jack up. The four black eyed kids stepped out of the trees and towards the ship, opening the door. The one that looked like an 11 year old boy turned. 

“Thank you for your aid humans. When we are all free this gesture will not be forgotten. For now here.” It held out its small hand, something glimmering in its palm. “This will hide you from sight if ever you need it.” 

Jack took the item. “Good luck out there.”

It nodded its thanks and stepped into the ship, the door closing behind it. After a few moments the vessel began to rise, the air around it warping. With a flash it was gone. 


	3. Shark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only a land shark left to deal with. Easier said than done.

Jacks gaze burned into Iantos head, who had been intentionally pretending he hadn’t noticed for the last twenty minutes. The others had worked that out rather quickly and were playing along. The longer they did the funnier it was so it became a competition to see who would crack first. It wan’t about knowing why anymore, it was just entertaining to see Jack stopping himself from saying anything. 

Gwen cracked first. “Ok, did you two have an argument or something?”

Ianto looked over at her and smiled. “No. Why would you think that?” 

Owen hid his smile by leaning on his hand while Tosh practically shook trying to suppress her laughter. 

“Just going on how quiet Jack’s been.” Gwen said casually. 

“Really?” Asked Ianto in prefect mock surprise. “I hadn’t noticed. Is there a problem sir?” He turned slowly. 

“You promised I could see your tattoo if I dropped everything to eat. I held up my end of the bargain.”

“Well, you hadn’t eaten since yesterday and you are impossible to work with when you’re hungry.”

“Not the point.”

“Later.”

Owen dropped his hand from his face. “You mean to tell me, even with the way you two carry on, you haven’t seen his tattoo yet?”

Jack huffed. “No, because he’s a super villain. He wouldn’t even let me see the design.”

“Oh, did you get the one Elise showed me?” Gwen asked excitedly. 

Ianto nodded in reply much to the captains chagrin. “You just want me to take my shirt off.”

“Yes, that’s what I signed up for.”

“Short of a medical emergency I’m afraid my clothes have to stay on within work hours. It’s simply out of my control sir.” He gave a self satisfied smiled and moved to tidy up.

“I have got to review that rule book.”

Elise had just finished wiring up the lights in Monty to its power source. She switched them on to make sure they were set up correctly when a pain shot through her head. She shielded her eyes but found it wasn’t the light causing the problem. She sat on the floor and rubbed at her temples. Nothing she’d used should cause headaches of any kind. 

Behind her she heard her little makeshift workshops door open. 

“How’s it going?” Asked Ianto, placing the box with her dinner inside on the table. 

She tried to look up but the light made her head pulse. “Fine. I’ve got most of the basic wiring done. I can finish the frame, the drill and the tracks tomorrow.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yea. Just a headache.”

“You should take a break.”

“I should. Sorry I didn’t join you guys, I wanted to just finish hooking up the lights.”

“You missed Jack pouting because I wouldn’t take off my shirt.”

“Isn’t that just his default?” 

“Pretty much. But he doesn’t usually openly admit it.”

She chuckled lightly and sighed as the pain subsided. “I’d better not be getting ill.”

“If you are you should go home and get some rest. You’ve got plenty of time to build Monty.”

“I might have a while, we can’t be sure. But you’re right. If I’ve caught something I shouldn’t be hanging around infecting everyone else.”

Tosh spent the night keeping an eye on the readings from the rift. It had spiked but nothing had moved either way. It was unusual but not unheard of so it was just a matter of keeping an eye on it. The same happened three days later, and again three days after that. Closing off the area wasn’t so easy as it settled in the middle of a heavily used road but they could use the excuse of road works to use the area for Monty’s first trip. The dog sized robot burrowed down, slipping between a gas pipe and a very inconveniently placed set of cabling. Elise remotely moved it to the last place the land shark was seen and followed the tilled earth, digging through soil and the crushed remnants of bones. Likely belonging to the swallowed cars driver. None of the soil processed by the shark contained any trace of metal, though it was full of tiny pieces of rubber and glass. 

“So, what do we do when we find them?” She asked, watching what could have been a looping image of soil moving past the robot. 

“If we can get a good look at it we might be able to see a way of shutting it down.” Said Tosh, peeking at the screen. “Depending on what it’s made of you might be able to drill through it.”

“Monty might be tough but I don’t think he’s tough enough to handle the grinder in that things mouth.”

“I didn’t expect you to drive right into its mouth.” 

Monty slowed, a warning that the earth was very unstable popping up on the screen. More soil fell away and something huge and silver was curled up ahead. The shark was coiled in a cavern of sorts. 

“This must have been where it was resting once it got here.”

“Can you get closer?” Asked Tosh.

“I can try.”

Monty edged forwards, tracks gripping the earth walls as best they could. Even on closer inspection the sharks outer shell looked impenetrable. 

“I can try and dig into it but if it wakes up it’s going to be pissed.” Elise mused. 

“Can we blow it up?”

“No. Monty wasn’t fitted with explosives. I swear you guys have a fetish for blowing up my robots.”

Tosh laughed softly. “It’s not personal. See if you can get in through its tail.”

“Toshiko Sato are you asking me to shove a robot up this sharks arse?”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“Shouldn’t we at least take him to dinner first?”

“Eli.”

“Ok ok.” She drove the robot around the edge of the cavern looking for the tip of the sharks tail. It was still partially buried but that wouldn’t be an issue. Monty dug into the wall and turned before charging forward. The small robot was barely noticed by the huge metal shark as it worked its way inside. Once safely at, what could be considered, it's stomach the soil was filled with glittering powder. Finely ground metal. It had eaten the car and digested the metal parts, using the metal to coat the inside of its shell. The camera began to shake.

“I think it just woke up.” Elise squeaked, making monty drill into the side of the sharks stomach so it wasn’t thrown out with the newly swallowed soil. 

Tosh tapped her earpiece. “The shark is on the move. We’re tracking it and it looks like it’s heading towards the surface.” 

“Any idea where it’s aiming?” Asked Jack.

“Its movements are erratic. I have no idea. I’ll send you the tracking signal.”

Jack was prepared for this chase and had an idea of how to stop the shark once it breached. The closer it got to the surface the clearer it became that it was heading for a building site. The heavy machinery attracting it. The SUV skidded to a halt. 

“Owen, get them to evacuate. I don’t care how.”

Owen hopped out and sprinted to the foreman, flashing his ID. “There’s a major crack in the gas line running under here. You need to get everyone as far away as possible, now.”

The foreman blinked and staggered at the suddenness of his approach. “But-”

“This whole place could be blown sky high any second. Don’t argue, just get everyone out of here!” With enough confidence people will almost always believe you have authority over them and follow your orders. The foreman grabbed a megaphone and began screaming for the workmen to shut everything down and get as far away as possible. 

Meanwhile Ianto pushed a very large speaker from the back of the SUV so it lay face down on the ground. If the shark followed vibrations then they’d give it something to follow. A tone that you could feel more than hear began to shake the ground. 

“Shouldn’t we be trying to get away from here? Before it eats us?” Asked Ianto, throwing a long coil of wire out to join the speaker. 

“If we move too soon it might change trajectory. Worried?”

“That I’m going to die by being eaten or crushed by a giant metal shark? No. That would be silly.” He said dryly. 

“As long as it eats the speaker it won’t be a problem.”

“Is that going to explode? That’s the kind of thing you should tell someone before they drop it out of a vehicle.”

“Explosives won’t work too well, but 100000 volts directly to whatever it has for a brain should.” 

“I didn’t know we had anything that could do that.”

“We didn’t. It’s something I borrowed.”

“Borrowed from who?”

“Someone who owed me a favour.”

“I won’t ask.”

Owen watched the workmen speed off as fast as they could, leaving the sight almost silent. He didn’t want to be out in the open with a very angry land based shark somewhere underneath his feet. He sprinted back and climbed back into the SUV. The tracker said the shark was pretty close.

“Shouldn’t we be moving?” Owen asked.

Jack watched the screen. “Not yet.”

“You’d better know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t I always?”

“No. No you don’t.”

“When did you lose your faith in me?”

“Around the time I gave up drinking every night.”

“I’m going to have to start trying again. I’ve gotten lazy. Anyway, brace yourself.” He hit the accelerator as the sharks drill nose broke through the road surface. The huge creature cast a huge shadow as it rose into the air. Sparks flew as the electrical device hidden inside the speaker activated. The beast skidded, gouging a deep divot in the tarmac, before sliding to a halt. Everything was still as the dust settled. Moments later Monty made its way out into the open air and switched into standby mode. 

Ianto grabbed the death scythe, his job not over just yet as the shark needed to be cut up for transport. 

“He survived!” Elise exclaimed joyously, proud of her little mole robot. 

Tosh closed her laptop that she’d been using to follow the tracking signal. “I hope we can find out what the rift has been up to here so we can have a quiet weekend.”

“Well, unlike every other time it’s spiked here I don’t have a headache from hell, so maybe it’s finally calmed down.”

“Don’t you only get those headaches when somethings actually pulling things through the rift?” 

“Who knows. That was the first time it happened, sure, but it could be anything.” She shrugged. “I’m taking today as a win.”

The sound of a heavy engine rumbled outside the tent that they were hidden in. 

“Isn’t the road closed off?” Tosh asked. 

Elise peeked outside to see a military vehicle, six men dressed in army garb and red berets clambered out. All armed. 

“Are they UNIT?” Elise asked quietly.

“What are they doing here?”

“They don’t look happy.”


End file.
